FOREST-USERS have been issued a warning as a “sustained period” of tree felling across the Tweed Valley begins.

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) urged Borderers to observe safety signage and listen to staff as works kick off.

A spokesperson said that there would be some heavy-duty machinery in use.

They added that the safety cordon around work sites was large because of the risk of ‘chainshot’.

This occurs when the high-speed chains that drive the harvester heads break and chain links fly off – in any direction – with the force and equivalent impact of a bullet.

FLS south region deputy regional manager Colin Binnie said: “We appreciate that the Tweed Valley is home to really popular mountain biking, walking and horse-riding trails and this work will cause some inconvenience, but it’s vital that we get this felling done.”

Mr Binnie added: “The large-scale nature of our work means harvesting operations will be visible and where work does impact on public access, we are encouraging visitors to consider one of the many other fantastic sites still open in the Tweed Valley.

“With the busier summer period approaching, we want people to be aware of the essential forestry work we are doing, adhere to the safety messaging and continue to enjoy the vast majority of managed and promoted trails that remain open.”

The work, which will affect an extensive area across the region, is part of FLS’ planned sustainable forest management programme, which contributes to the local and national timber supply chain and economy.

Local teams have made efforts to ensure the large-scale operations will have minimal impact on recreational facilities.

Access to some mountain bike trails will be restricted due to the felling work.

“The forests in this region support a wide range of recreational activities offering health and wellbeing benefits for the public,” said Mr Binnie. “However, productive forestry is a core priority for us, essentially because the income generated from timber sales funds the majority of FLS’ work.

“These trees have reached commercial maturity and need to be harvested as part of managing healthy and resilient forests. This is especially important to reduce the likelihood of significant disruption from storm damage. In the planning and operational phases all efforts have been made to allow people to keep using most of the trails in the area while prioritising the health and safety of our staff, our contractors and all members of the public.

It is anticipated that operations will be ongoing throughout 2024 and into the early part of 2025, and will impact access to sites including Glentress, Traquair, Caberston and Thornielee.